We found a recommended scenic trip around the Ozarks, and planned to do that over the course of two days. The first day was to travel north up to Harrison, and from there south down to Jasper where we would stay overnight. Of course we had the mandatory stop-off at the McDonalds in Harrison where Jordan made some more 5-minute friends while playing in the playground. He is really good at making quick friends now, and also a lot better at leaving after his play with no fuss.
Between Harrison and Jasper we stumbled across the Mystic Caverns. These are 2 large caverns full of stalactites, stalagmites, and some other formations that all add up to a great underground experience. Unfortunately I found it virtually impossible to get photos that share the experience as without a skyline the context of the photos gets lost. That being said, I have to show you something!!
These caverns were used to house a distillery during the Prohibition era, and unfortunately as a consequence the formations in that part of the caverns as irreparably stained with smoke. That still left plenty of areas that were in pristine order though, so perhaps those affected areas just served to give historical atmosphere!
The little town we stayed on the outskirts of was Jasper, and gave the impression of having a population of about 20! Lots of atmosphere, and lots of country-style hospitality too. This is the main street - the diner in the foreground was great, serving organic meals.
As you can see from this photo they also served local game meats - in fact the gentleman managing the RV camp said he never buys meat. The majority of the meat he eats is hunted, and the domesticated is prepared by the local farmer with grass-feed cattle. He was well aware of the problems with mainstream US beef and wouldn't eat any of it.
Tomorrow - touring the mountains!!
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